It’s hard to believe that Life of Ryan: Caretaker Manager is from Fulwell 73, the same company that produced Class of ’92 and other good football films.
The company had released Class of ’92 in Nov-2013. David Moyes was abruptly fired the following April, not even finishing ManU’s dire 2013-2014 season. Ryan Giggs was promoted to interim player-manager for the last 4 games. Life Of Ryan appears to have leveraged some of the interviews from the prior movie, and it picks up from there.
We start with Ryan Giggs as he mulls over his long career, but then he is offered a trial by fire: interim management of the biggest football team in the world. He is aided by his ’92 buddies, Gary Neville, Paul Scholes, and Nicky Butt, as they attempt to return ManU to fast-paced attack-minded football. The film follows through to the end of the season. Subsequently Giggs was named assistant manager under Louis van Gaal.
Dull and misleading
This film might satisfy fans who can’t get enough ManU insider perspectives. But otherwise, it is dismally dull. And, what bothered me more was to see Ryan’s depiction as a competitive but wholesome family man.
In researching this film, I learned that Ryan Giggs had earlier been exposed as having conducted an 8-year affair with his brother’s wife. And while it could be excused as a case of I-saw-her-first, or that he only did it for the (almost daily) sex, it just kind of runs counter to the idea of putting on that jersey and representing the Club. Oh, on second thought, maybe his behavior is a perfect representation of ManU players.
4 Soccer Movie Mom Rating = 4
Resources:
- Release Date: 2014-06-05 (UK)
- IMDB
- Director: Daniel Mendelle
- Stars: Ryan Giggs
- Watch the unofficial Trailer
